CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Belk Bowl, which usually picks opponents from the Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference, announced this year's matchup.
South Carolina (7-5) will take on Virginia (7-5) at noon on Saturday, Dec. 29 at Bank of America Stadium in uptown Charlotte.
It will be the teams first meeting since 2013.
The Gamecocks, from Columbia, South Carolina, are expected to be a big draw in Charlotte.
Their offense is led by quarterback Jake Bentley and wide receiver Deebo Samuel. T.J. Brunson and Rashad Fenton are standouts on defense.
South Carolina finished its regular season Saturday by beating Akron 28-3. It also has SEC wins over Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi and Vanderbilt.
Virginia heads into the Belk Bowl on a two-game losing streak, most recently falling to Virginia Tech 34-31 on Nov. 23. The Cavaliers have conference wins over Louisville, Miami, Duke and North Carolina.
Quarterback Bryce Perkins leads the Cavaliers' offense with 2,472 passing yards, 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions, while gaining 842 yards with nine touchdowns on the ground. Jordan Ellis and Olamide Zaccheaus are big playmakers on offense. Juan Thornhill and Chris Peace are key defenders.
Last year's Belk Bowl was a shootout, with Wake Forest beating Texas A&M 55-52.
About the 2018 Belk Bowl:
Virginia (7-5, Atlantic Coast Conference) vs. South Carolina (7-5, Southeastern Conference), Dec. 29, noon EST.
LOCATION: Charlotte, North Carolina
TOP PLAYERS
Virginia: QB Bryce Perkins, 2,472 yards passing, 22 TDs passing; 842 yards rushing, nine TDs rushing.
South Carolina: WR Deebo Samuel. 882 yards receiving, 11 touchdowns.
NOTABLE
Virginia: Averaged 170.3 yards per game on the ground this season.
South Carolina: Will Muschamp has won 22 games in three seasons, the most of any Gamecocks coach in his first three seasons.
LAST TIME
South Carolina 31, Virginia 7 (Sept. 6, 2003)
BOWL HISTORY
Virginia: Will be making 20th bowl appearance (7-12). The Cavaliers have lost their last three bowl games. However, they're 2-0 at the Belk Bowl (formally called the Continental Tire Bowl), defeating West Virginia 48-22 in 2002 and Pittsburgh 23-16 in 2003 in Charlotte.
South Carolina: Will be making 23rd bowl appearance (9-13). It is the Gamecocks' first appearance in the Belk Bowl. However, they have played three times in regular-season games in Charlotte and are 3-0, most recently defeating NC State, 35-28 to open the 2017 season.
Read more top trending stories on wsoctv.com:
- Community petitions to allow father of slain kidnapped teen into US for funeral
- Armed man upset with neighbors shot by officers in east Charlotte, police say
- George H. W. Bush: 41st president dead at 94
- WATCH: Jaclyn Shearer's Sunday forecast outlook
- Police identify man shot, killed outside northeast Charlotte apartment complex
Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
